Great Indexes

• How appropriate are the selected index terms for the intended audience?

 
• How relevant are the main headings? Are they useful and clear? Do they fully cover the material?

 
• How well are the main headings broken down into subheadings? Is the level of detail consistent?

 
• Does each list of subheadings fully cover the topic without being too long and without having too many page references after each subheading?

 
• Are all the references to a topic that are scattered across the document brought together even when varying terminology has been used in the document?

 
• Are subheadings both precise and concise?

 
• Can you find information in different ways? Are synonyms covered?

 
• Do cross-references guide you quickly to the right place in the index? Do "See" references direct you to terms with the same meaning? Do "See also" references direct you to related information about a specific topic?

 
• Given the density of the material in the text, is the index of the right length and detail?

 
• Are abbreviations, acronyms and symbols handled consistently?

 
• Are the printed index pages easy to read? Are the main headings and subheadings clearly distinguishable? Can you easily browse or scan the index?

 
• When a list of subheadings continues on to the top of the next column, is there a "continued heading" to assist the reader. Are any bad breaks corrected?

Fred Brown
Allegro Technical Indexing
fred.brown@allegrotechindexing.com
(613) 728-9373

July, 2001
Allegro Time!